This invention relates to dental appliances and mouthguards, and more particularly to customizable dental appliances and mouthguards.
It is well known that athletes who are in contact sports wear mouthguards to protect their teeth from sharp blows as well as to protect the head and temporomandibular joint from concussion. Mouthguards are common in football, hockey, soccer, rugby, boxing, for example. Mouthguards may be considered a subgroup of dental appliances.
There is also a trend for athletes, such as body builders, weight lifters, baseball batters, golfers, football players, hockey players, and bowlers to wear dental appliances to prevent the clenching of their teeth during exertion which results in hundreds of pounds of compressed force exerted from the lower jaw onto the upper jaw. Teeth clenching also occurs in bruxing and child birthing. Clenching can result in headaches, muscle spasms, damage to teeth and injury to the temporomandibular joint as well as pain in the jaw. Thus, dental appliances have been created having posterior pads to be positioned between the upper and lower teeth to prevent clenching and damage to one""s teeth and jaw structures.
It also is well known that there are dental appliances for a myriad of other uses. Splints, which look like mouthguards, are used for bleaching of teeth, while other appliances may be used to control breathing and snoring. Dentists also use appliances in administering to teeth during dentistry.
Dental appliances and mouthguards historically have been made of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). These devices are subject to degradation due to the user clenching and chewing on the appliance or mouthguard. EVA also has a mild ester-like odor and cannot be made clear but rather translucent to white.
Upon decomposition, EVA will break down to hazardous vinyl acetate, acetic acid, carbon monoxide and hazardous hydrocarbon oxidation products.
There is a need for dental appliances to be made of clear material for aesthetics, have low or no odor and exhibit strong flexible, tensile and impact properties.
A customizable dental appliance adapted to lie within the mouth of a person consisting of occlusal posterior pads optionally with a connective arch or a u-shaped style base with upstanding labial and/or buccal walls. The appliance is made of low-density polyethylene with a nucleating agent.
A principle object and advantage of the present invention is the appliance is made of low-density polyethylene which exhibits no odor and strong flexible, tensile and impact properties while yet being soft.
Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the customizable appliance may be made clear for aesthetics.
Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the nucleating agent permits the softened appliance to shrink onto the teeth and gums for a tight fit.
Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the appliance is non-hazardous.
Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the nucleating agent adds gloss and clarity to the appliance.
Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the nucleating agent increase the crystalline temperature so that the appliance will harden quicker for a better customized fit.
Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the agent has anti-slip properties that make the appliance easy to mold.
Other objects and advantages will become obvious with the reading of the following specification and appended claims with a review of the figures.